Silence
by irrelevant elephant
Summary: Kaoru Tanaka is a new student at Kaibara High, and she's not very happy about it. However, when she meets the Sohmas, she realises that her deceased sister knew someone with the same last name, and she ends up getting dragged into their world.


Hello, all! :D I know I'm still working on my Death Note fanfic, but I wanted to start this one and get it up. The first few chapters are a bit on the slow side and I apologise for that. But please enjoy it!

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Chapter One.

Sunlight peeked through the curtains in the dark room as an alarm went off. The figure in the bed rolled over and groaned at the buzzing noise, grabbing the pillow from under her head and covering it with it. After five or so minutes in that position, she groaned again and decided to get out of bed, shuffling to her closet and grabbing her new school uniform. She slowly changed into her new clothes, but before she could get her shirt over her head, a crash was heard from the hallway. Her breath caught in her throat and she threw her door open, her shirt hanging around her neck. There was nothing in the hallway, nothing that told of any crashes, at least. There was no broken glass, no injured bodies, nothing.

The girl took a deep breath and shook her head. Even _if_ the crash had been real, it wasn't like her parents would have come running. They both had left for work already, without a single goodbye to their daughter. That was fine, though, since her relationship with them had become strained.

She finished dressing and glanced into a mirror, seeing if there was anything she could do to fix her hair. She had a bit of a bed-head, but otherwise, it was fine. Messy hair would have to do on her first day at her new high school. She grabbed her bag and out the door, muttering to herself, "Today is going to be _hell_."

xx

"Good morning!" a cheerful voice said as a group of three teenagers appeared in the doorway. The voice belonged to a smiling brown-haired girl who was now waving to two other girls in the classroom. "Uo-chan, Hana-chan!"

A girl with a long black braid over her shoulder and a tall blonde stood to welcome the group of three. "Good morning, Tohru-kun," the girl with the braid murmured, acknowledging the two boys behind the brunette with a nod.

One of the boys, a redhead, stared at his feet, an angry look on his face. Saying good morning like this was part of the brunette's daily routine. For now, he just had to keep his mouth shut.

"Morning, Kyon," the blonde said, nudging the orange-haired boy with a grin. "Why so quiet? I know you're kinda stupid, but you've gotta have _something_ to say."

A sigh came from the grey-haired boy next to him. "Please don't encourage him, Uotani-san," he said, shaking his head.

"Shut up, you damn Yuki!" the red-head spat, his hair now matching his mood. "And I am _not_ an idiot! No one's encouraging me! I'm just annoyed at you all saying good morning like this!"

"Oh…" the brunette said softly, looking up at Kyo with wide eyes. She looked down, her eyes filling with sadness. "We don't have to say good morning any more, Kyo-kun…"

"Eh?" Kyo stared at Tohru and shook his head. "That's not what I meant…!"

Yuki shook his head again, his palm against his forehead in disappointment. "And the stupid cat says something idiotic, once again."

"If you make Tohru cry," Arisa Uotani growled, taking a handful of Kyo's shirt into her fist, "I will personally castrate you."

"N-no, Uo-chan, I'm fine!" Tohru cried out, waving her arms in an attempt to save Kyo from being harmed.

Saki Hanajima gave Kyo a dark look. "If you don't enjoy Tohru-kun saying good morning to us, you can leave."

Kyo shot a glare to everyone but Tohru and threw his arms up. "Fine! I'm going to sit down." And with that, he stomped off to his desk.

"Kyo-kun…!" Tohru rushed after him in an attempt to make things better.

Arisa shook her head, a small smile on her face. "Our little Tohru's growing up, Hanajima." She glanced at Yuki for a moment. "How are they doing, Prince Charming?"

The grey-haired boy simply shrugged. "Things with Kyo and Honda-san are, well-"

Yuki was interrupted as an older brown-haired woman slammed the classroom door open, an irritated look on her face as she entered. "Everyone, sit down!" she yelled, stomping to the front of the room in annoyance. The students, clearly aware of her irritation, jumped into their seats as quickly as possible.

The woman took a breath, as if to calm herself down, and looked up at the room full of teenagers. "Okay, well, we've got a new student today. Come on in, Tanaka."

As soon as the words had left her mouth, the door opened and revealed a small black-haired girl, her hands clasped together in front of her as she walked to the front of the classroom. She looked extremely timid and nervous to be there.

"Hello," she said softly, glancing down at her feet. "My name is Kaoru Tanaka. It's very nice to meet you."

Tohru gasped quietly as a large smile spread across her face. She glanced at Yuki, who was sitting beside her, and whispered, "Yuki-kun! A new student!"

Yuki smiled at her and nodded. As he looked back at the new student, Kaoru, he narrowed his eyes, as if trying to remember something. But in an instant, that memory was gone. He blinked, thoroughly confused. What had just happened?

The teacher looked at Kaoru, putting her hand on her hip in thought. "How about you sit behind Hanajima there?" she said finally, pointing at the empty seat behind followed her finger with her eye until they settled on the black-haired girl in question. A small gasp of surprise escaped her lips as her eyes widened and she glanced back at the teacher. "A-are you sure, Shiraki-sensei?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Of course I'm sure," Mayuko Shiraki replied, waving her hand carelessly. "Now go sit down so I can start teaching."

The new student nodded slowly and, hesitating at first, moved to her desk. She avoided Saki's eyes-which was easy to do since Saki wasn't even looking at her-and quickly at down.

Tohru watched Kaoru from across the room, already beginning to worry about her. She glanced at Yuki, wanting to ask if he'd seen the look on Kaoru's face when told about where she would be sitting. But Yuki was paying close attention to Mayu's teaching. She sighed quietly, deciding that she would talk to Kaoru during lunch.

xx

Later that day, as the students were pulling out their various bento boxes and getting ready to enjoy a nice midday meal, Kaoru still sat at her desk, quietly eating a banana. Her eyes were downcast, for fear of looking at someone accidentally and making them angry.

Before she could react, she felt a light tap on her shoulder and looked up. Tohru was standing at her side, smiling brightly.

"Hello! I'm Tohru Honda," she exclaimed cheerfully. "It's very nice to meet you!"

Kaoru blinked, thoroughly confused. Why in the world was she speaking to her? She bit her lip and looked down again, nodding to acknowledge her.

Tohru tilted her head, watching the silent Kaoru in slight disappointment. "Um, Kaoru-san?"

The black-haired girl looked up at her curiously. This Tohru seemed friendly, but there really was no reason for her to be talking to her.

"Uh, um, that is…" Tohru said, stumbling over her words. When Kaoru looked straight at her, she noticed the colour of her eyes, a piercing light blue that almost looked grey. Tohru was startled so much that she couldn't form any words.

"Hey Tohru, are you coming or what?" Kyo said suddenly, appearing by Tohru's side seemingly out of nowhere. His voice sounded annoyed. He narrowed his eyes at Kaoru before saying, "Are you done here? If I have to eat lunch with that damn Yuki, I want you to be there."

"Huh?" Kaoru said softly, staring up at Tohru with wide eyes. "You wanted to eat lunch with me?"

Tohru glanced from Kaoru to Kyo, then back to Kaoru. "Um, yes! Won't you please join us, Kaoru-san? It would be very sad if you had to eat lunch by yourself on your first day!" she said, clenching her fists with passion. "Even if you don't know anyone, it's okay, because you don't have to be alone!"

Kyo watched her silently, secretly hoping that this girl would decline Tohru's invitation. Eating with Yuki was bad enough, but add someone new to the group-this outsider-and things might go even worse than normal.

Kaoru shook her head slowly, making Kyo sigh inaudibly with gratefulness. "No thank you, Tohru-san. I…I'm fine. I don't want to bother you or your friends."

"N-no, Kaoru-san! You wouldn't be bothering us!" Tohru exclaimed, waving her hands ferociously. "You're probably a really good person, and I-!"

"She said no, Tohru," Kyo said calmly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Now leave her alone, so we can go eat already."

Tohru looked from Kyo to Kaoru once again, and sighed. "Okay, Kyo-kun." She gave a small smile to Kaoru again. "Maybe tomorrow, Kaoru-san?"

Kaoru shrugged, and took another bite of her banana. She watched as Tohru and Kyo walked away, joining Arisa, Saki and Yuki on their way out of the classroom. Kaoru cocked her head curiously. Where were they going to eat? She caught Tohru's smile before the group left the room. She seemed to be like such a kind girl, but the thought of it pained Kaoru's heart. She hadn't talked to anyone with that sort of kindness in years, let alone even interacted with people in general. She sighed and finished her banana. Would she actually take Tohru up on her offer for lunch tomorrow? The odds were against it, but maybe. Just maybe.


End file.
